91��ɫ

Everyone from video game console makers such as Nintendo, to satellite TV services such as Bell TV, is making a bet on 3-D, :

“The studios are realizing there’s a golden goose here because you get all these bums in seats that will pay a 30 per cent premium,” says Ali Kazimi, an independent filmmaker and professor in 91��ɫ’s Department of Film in the Faculty of Fine Arts.

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Several Toronto firms are participating in a provincially funded research project called 3D FLIC. The two-year project combines the talents of visual scientists at 91��ɫ with film makers and their suppliers.

One of the driving forces behind the project is Jim Mirkopoulos, vice-president at family-owned Cinespace Film Studios.

“Two years ago we really became interested, before the big wave hit, in how to optimize our space for 3D so we could help spur Ontario’s transformation into a 3D centre of excellence,” Mirkopoulos says.

The company partnered with 91��ɫ and 3D Camera Company, shot a few test projects and then applied to the Ontario Media Development Corp. for a grant. The project received $1.4 million in funding.

“The idea is to build a competency in 3D that surpasses other jurisdictions in North America,” Mirkopoulos says, and generate jobs in the new 3D industry.

Kazimi, the film maker, educator and member of 3D FLIC, says a lot of work lies ahead.

“It’s a new medium. It’s akin to switching from black and white to colour, compounded many times,” he says. “We really don’t know at this stage what are the true possibilities of 3D story telling in film language.”

But it’s also a huge business opportunity for the city, Kazimi says.

Between Mirkopoulous, White and others, Toronto is becoming a hub of 3D activity, he says. “People are coming to Toronto because of them.”

More information about 3D FLIC is available on the and in the . To read the complete Star article, .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.